Imagine that Fire Emblem and Disgaea had a baby, and that baby turned out to be a prodigy…

“With destructible buildings, bridge construction to create new flanking opportunities and the ability to throw people into lava, it sounds like Telepath Tactics may contain all that is necessary for my tactical needs.”–Adam Smith, Rock Paper Shotgun

“The gameplay recalls Sega’s Shining Force series, mixed with a bit of Advance Wars — as a fan of both, I definitely approve of the direction this one’s taking!”–The Indie Games Blog

“Like all games of war—digital and otherwise—you must learn how to use the terrain to your advantage. You can smash through walls, rob the high ground, build bridges, and lay down explosives. You can also back your foes into undesirable puddles of stuff, like water and lava. For a change, try flinging your best friend off a cliff.”–GameZebo

“Telepath Tactics is the first tactics game where I felt competitive in a good way and had a great time whether I was winning or losing. I love the use of environmental effects in TT and they’ve led to some interesting land grab battles where it was more about controlling, deforming, or transforming the maps to win than directly battling my opponent.”–Phil Tibitoski, Octodad

The Game

Telepath Tactics is a turn-based tactical RPG in the tradition of Fire Emblem and Disgaea. It features a single player campaign with well-written characters embroiled in a tale of war and political intrigue, as well as 2-to-6 player multiplayer with support for hotseat play (i.e. you and your friends playing together in the same room, Super Smash Brothers style).

Setting

Telepath Tactics takes place in a fantasy-steampunk universe that averts most of the tropes you’re used to from these sorts of games. Magic doesn’t exist: instead, there is psionics and steam-powered technology reliant on a volatile, crystalline substance called vibra. Cavaliers don’t ride horses: they ride giant, armored praying mantises. There are no elves, no dwarves, no goblins, no dragons: it’s just humans and a few other, entirely original sentient races (such as the shadowlings, disembodied floating heads that quite literally feed on human suffering).

Gameplay

Telepath Tactics takes a highly deterministic approach to combat mechanics. Attack damage is 100% predictable, and attacks always hit unless there is some intervening factor (such as the attacker having been blinded, or the target having some special defensive status effect). In this regard, it is very much a game of skill akin to chess—chance will seldom determine the outcome of a battle.

Telepath Tactics borrows liberally from the best tactics games around to provide a wide variety of available strategies. Throw enemies off of cliffs; push enemies into water or lava; fling friends across gaps; set your enemies on fire; freeze them; blind them; cripple them; stun them; use hit-and-run tactics with cavalry and bowmen; teleport; grab item drops; stick your ranged units on the high ground to boost their effectiveness; the list goes on and on.

Telepath Tactics also brings fresh new environmental manipulation mechanics to the table. Push boulders, barrels and tables in the way to block off certain routes; build bridges to create new routes across water or lava; build barricades to brunt an incoming attack; destroy walls, doors and bridges to open up or close off routes of attack; shoot through open windows; place down explosive charges to create a trap for an unwary opponent. Telepath Tactics supports all of this and more.

The enemy AI in Telepath Tactics is aggressive and reactive. The enemy will not just sit around the battlefield waiting for your characters to wander into aggro range or trigger a script—instead, the AI will actively maneuver and seek out ways to get at your most vulnerable characters.

Telepath Tactics multiplayer comes with 22 unique character classes, each with its own strengths, weaknesses, and battlefield roles. The single player campaign features unique, named characters based off of these classes, each with its own custom stats and leveling schemes.

You don’t have to be content with the selection the game ships with, however. Telepath Tactics features extensive mod support that allows you to create custom multiplayer maps, custom tilesets, custom destructible objects, custom items, custom attacks, custom character classes, and even whole single player campaigns filled with unique characters, enemies, dialog and cut scenes. Everything is stored in easy-to-edit .xml files, so modding is a cinch.

The game also comes with a full-featured map editor to make creating new battles fast and simple. Create your own, or download someone else’s: Telepath Tactics supports all of the above.

There is a lot more I could say about the game. Rather than talk your ear off, however, I will direct you to the latest draft of the Telepath Tactics manual with more (and more detailed) information on how the game works.

WHERE IS TELEPATH TACTICS AT IN ITS DEVELOPMENT?

Every single thing you read in the section above is currently in-game and working. There is no question about whether this project is too ambitious to complete: it isn’t. The lion’s share of the really tough stuff is already done. I just need more resources to give the game all the content and polish it needs.

SO, WHAT DO YOU NEED $25,500 FOR?

I’ve crunched some numbers, and $25,500 is the bare minimum amount of money it will take to finish Telepath Tactics to my satisfaction. (Please note that I am not counting wages for myself in this figure. I don’t want a salary; I just want the money to get this thing done right.)

Here are the things your contribution will fund:

Hiring a sound designer to create all of the sound effects for every last button click, movement, attack, character death, item usage, and action in the game. Estimated cost: $12,000

Hiring a composer to flesh out the game’s soundtrack with more music. Estimated cost: $4,000

Hiring artists to create more art: tilesets, destructible objects, character portraits, NPC sprites, and a second gender for each character class. Estimated cost: $4,000.00

Now, if you’re good at math, you might be scratching your head right now. “Craig,” you might say, “that’s only $23,000. What is the last $2,500 for?” Good eye. The last $2,500 is to cover the estimated 10% cut that Amazon and Kickstarter take from whatever we raise. (For instance: if we raise $25,500.00, I estimate that these guys will take a $2,550 cut; that leaves just about $23,000, the amount I need to cover the expenses listed above.)

*Publicity is important to the game: it means more people for you to play against in multiplayer, and more people creating single player campaigns for you to play. Trust me, you want this!

WHAT HAPPENS IF WE RAISE MORE THAN $25,500?

In the event that this happens, I have a wish list a mile long for extra goodies I could pack into the game! If it starts looking like we’re going to break past $25,500, I’ll update this section with stretch goals for ways in which we can make Telepath Tactics even more awesome.

Forsaken Fortress is a special RPG game in which you build your base, defences and assemble your team against monsters attacks in a post apocalyptic world. In this game you must explore the wastelands for material you can use to upgrade your base, build turrets, walls and parts of base like clinic to heal your squad or training rooms and assemble your team from variety of professions – you will also need to keep their moral high.

This game uses the Unity4 game engine so a GNU/Linux client will be made.

What is Forsaken Fortress?

Unlike many other existing post-apocalypstic RPG, Forsaken Fortress emphasize on base management, defense, team management and resource collection. In the game you need to build and defend your base from waves of hostiles and to use the break time to explore the surrounding environment for supplies and to work on missions. In order to survive in this dangerous world, you need to assemble and maintain a specialized team that is made up of unique and individual characters. You need to utilize their professional skills in order to achieve optimized team functionality. The game also incorporates many simulation-derived elements, such as building entertainment for the team to maintain morale or upgrading accommodation for the team so they can rest well.

Core Features

While an RPG at heart, Forsaken Fortress draws influences from variety of sources and all that elements work together to provide a cohesive and engaging gaming experience.

Base Defense and Management
Your base will be assaulted by a range of hostile forces, ranging from rival squads to the twisted denizens of Earth’s surface. Position your forces, upgrade your weaponry, and maintain the perimeter to ensure survival during prolonged sieges!

Resource Collection and Story Based Missions
While your base is not under attack, your squad will need to collect resources and work on missions in the surrounding environment. The most coveted prizes will not be left unguarded, and you may have to fight tooth-and-nail to acquire what you need. Balance survival with completing the mission — an improperly planned all-in strategy could easily lead to disaster!

Rich Character Development and Interaction
You squad is comprised of unique characters.Each character has unique personalities and traits. These traits can be positive – such as the Cat Eye (better performance at night) – or negative – such as Cowardice (a propensity to flee from battle). Traits can be dynamically developed throughout the game. For instance, if you frequently send one person into bloody combat, he or she might develop a trait of Aggressive (may ignore orders during a fierce combat). You can interact with different characters to manipulate their attitude towards you. For instance bribing will increase the relationship temporarily, while developing friendship will increase the relationship in a long term.

Personnel Management
Outfit and balance your expedition teams to suit the needs of the mission, and assign squad members within the base to where they will be needed most – fences will need repair, bunkers will need gunners, the injured will need healing, and supplies must be distributed. Balance labor and relief to maximum squad members’ morale.

Morale Management

Your team will respond to working and leisure conditions as a real team would. Match team members for harmony and effectiveness, determine performance rewards, and construct base facilities to maintain morale.

Realtime Combat
Squad-based realtime combat system brings you maximum tension and a brutal combat experience. With enemies that are ten times stronger and a thousand times more vicious than humans, the only way to survive is to rely on technology and tactics. If you don’t act quickly and intelligently, you will be overwhelmed. Control your character while issuing orders to your comrades. Cooperation between different squad members is a critical part of achieving success!

Mass Destruction
Shrapnel, ricochets, destructible environmental features, and vehicles all come into play within Forsaken Fortress. Take advantage of the game’s advanced physics engine and dynamic environment with exciting strategic gameplay!

When will Forsaken Fortress be released?

The release date is targeted for the 2013 holiday season. This will be a DRM-free, cross-platform release, meaning you can play on any PC or Mac.

Who is Photon Productions and why support Forsaken Fortress?

We are an indie studio with a goal of bringing some new experience to the futuristic RPG genre. What you see here was put together by a small team comprised of two artists and two programmers in a small underground bunker near new york. We have been working part-time on this project for nearly half a year. Making a RPG game like this is difficult. During this half year, we have experienced many difficulties such as, time shortage, losing manpower, etc. And we realized that it is almost impossible to achieve what we promised without turning part-time staff into full-time. Kickstarter is our best chance of getting funded. And in fact, the Kickstarter’s competitive mechanic is making us more productive and dedicated. We eager to bring you the best that can be offered!

Your funding will be going towards the acquisition of new staff members, pay for software licenses, and to maintain the employment of current team members.
With your help, we will make this game the best it can possibly be! Thank you for your time and your contributions!

Europe is in turmoil. The lands are fragmented into petty fiefs, the emperor struggles with the Pope, and the Holy Father declares that all those who go to liberate the Holy Land will be freed of their sins. Now is the time for greatness.

Increase your lands and fill your coffers, appoint vassals, battle traitors, introduce laws while interacting with hundreds of nobles, and create the most powerful dynasty of medieval Europe. A beleaguered king will always have friends to support him. But beware, as your rule and realm may find trouble when a loyal vassal becomes a bitter rival. Stand ready, increase your prestige, and listen to the world whisper your name in awe. Do you have what it takes to become a Crusader King?

Start a game in 1066 and forge 400 years of European history

Take on the role of a Christian noble and carry them through the ages from Count to Emperor via the line of succession

Gather Prestige for every successive character you play, furthering the glory of your dynasty

Expand your feudal domain at the expense of your rivals

Unravel the plots of your courtiers and vassals, each armed with their own agendas

Re-enact the Crusades, defend against the Mongol onslaught, and form feudal nation-states

Struggle with the Pope for control of the bishops

Relive the Middle Ages with up to 32 other players in a competitive multiplayer mode Screens

Oniken is a retro 2d platform game heavily inspired (from the trailer) by the early Ninja Gaiden games (which I spent ours upon hours playing on SNES)You can get it on Desura for $5 starting from 22/11/2012.

Mac and GNU/Linux versions of Oniken will be made available this Tuesday November 22th through Desura .
When purchasing Oniken (USD$4.99), player will be able to download any of game’s three versions and will also be able to download Oniken’s original sound track and extra content.
Players that have already purchased Oniken also will have acess to the new version through Desura or Bundle sites. Oniken is also on GreenLight.
Watch Oniken’s launch trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixCI4JXUuUE

Oniken is an action platformer, highly inspired by 8-bit games of the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. This influence is visible not only on Oniken’s graphics and sound design, but also on its story and even on game’s difficulty.
Oniken takes place on a post-apocalyptic future when a global war nearly destroys human kind.
The few survivors are oppressed by a large military organization called Oniken. Player takes the role of Zaku, a ninja mercenary that takes part on the resistance movement.

About Oniken

Oniken is a 2D platform action indie game that make use of 8-bit graphic style. Everything on Oniken, from the character design to the music, is a tribute to the 8-bit action games from the NES era. So if you like old-school games be prepared for Oniken and remember… Oniken is NES hard!

Danilo Dias – Architecture bachelor, Danilo loved videogames from a very early age and always tried to make his own games. After falling short with some projects during adolescence, two years ago Danilo decided to restart an old idea and teamed up with his friend Pedro. This project became Oniken, which is a tribute to his favorite games from the 8 and 16-bit generation, such as Ninja Gaiden, Vice: Project Doom and Kabuki Quantum Fighter.

Pedro Paiva – Pedro Paiva is responsible for the game art in some of Oniken’s levels. He is a senior student from UFRGS’s Visual Arts, teaches videogame developing in workshops for kids and teens and is also a gamer and indie developer. His other games can be seen on his blog/portfolio Arcaica .

About JoyMasher

JoyMasher is an indie game studio founded by Danilo Dias, Thais Weiller and Marco Galvão on early 2012. Studio focus on creating gaming experiences closest possible to 8 and 16-bit era games with a touch of contemporary concepts. Besides Oniken, JoyMasher also made available for free download MRC6-454 and Major Maox, two short games that represent our game design goals.

I Will Survive looks like an interesting platform game with dark homer, uncensored adult content, gore and zombies. All animations are made frame by frame, drawn by hand and looks excellent. With ~50 playable characters and ~150 monsters/zombies to kill, this is a huge amount of work. I really don’t know why there are so few backers to this project with it’s already low goal of 5,000 British Pounds.

I Will Survive is a multi-genre, somewhat endless game in a comic style with an uncensored design an story built on sarcasm and satire.

Decaying Logic needs your help. We are a small team founded in 2011 by Matt D. C & Lampros Papadopoulos working towards our dream of finishing and releasing our game ‘I Will Survive’. We are reaching out to the gaming community because we want our project to reach its highest possible potential.

The more funds we have the more we can do and the more platforms we can aim at, and…. software licenses are really expensive and we don’t have big company pockets.

Most stories follow the hero, the survival minded protagonist who will prevail no matter what situation is thrown at him. We want to take the opposite approach and focus on the people whose lives were cut short due to unforeseen consequence, and therefore not able to tell their story no matter how heroic or tragic.

I Will Survive has been up on Steam Greenlight for a few months now and we’ve had a lot of attention and overall a great response from the community. You can find the page HERE if you want to check it out and maybe help us out with a vote up and see our game on Steam.

As well as for the PC, Mac and Linux, we will be making versions for Android and IOS. We want to try to bring the game out on as many platforms as possible and if we can we’ll go for the Xbox360 and PS3 too.

We have around 50 playable characters so far and our enemy count almost triples that. Quality to us is number one and we never re-skin the same characters or enemies to give the game more filler. Every level and environment is built from the ground up. The idea of reusing the same levels and copy pasting everywhere is pointless and we would rather put in the effort. Eye candy tastes good and we have lots of it.

Each character has its own unique weapons and capabilities, with its own story to tell, which will play out in segments as you switch between them.

Everything you see in the game is hand drawn and animations are carefully done frame by frame then colored, animated and polished down again to give each movement the smoothest possible finish.

As a thank you to all who donate to help our project reach its full potential, we have a bunch of cool stuff to give away such as T-shirts, key rings, stickers, original signed artwork from the game, PDF and some hard copies of our Survival Guide/Art Book.

Thanks for reading this and looking at our project. For more pictures of the game and artwork, checkout the IWS website HERE.

Check out the website to see more screenshots, concept art and to generally get to know more about the game. You can also follow what we’re doing via Twitter, IndieDB, Facebook, joing our STEAM group or of course at our little dev blog on the website.

The Unity4 Game Engine that brings GNU/Linux support and many, many, many new games that uses it – is finally released ! Unity4 was the number 1 engine of choice by most Kickstarter game projects and thanks to it, they could promise a GNU/Linux client for their games. Unity4 brings a huge boost to the GNU/Linux gaming – and was a big part of me discontinuing my “Upcoming GNU/Linux Games” list. It just got so huge that I could no longer keep track of upcoming releases.

The press release :

Unity 4.0 Launches

San Francisco – November 14, 2012 – Unity Technologies, provider of the Unity multi-platform engine and development tools, is proud to announce Unity 4.0 is now available for download. Unity 4, announced in June, will consist of a series of updates designed to improve the product through an extensive improvement of existing tech and the rollout of new features.

The first in a series of updates for Unity 4, this version includes significant additions such as DirectX 11 support and Mecanim animation tools. In addition users will have access to a Linux deployment preview and the Adobe® Flash® Player deployment add-on.

“Unity 4 will see the addition of an incredible number of new, highly advanced, features and continuous improvement across the tech to be released in smaller, faster increments than Unity has seen in the past,” said David Helgason, CEO, Unity Technologies. “It’s an exciting time for Unity and the 4.0 release marks the beginning of a great new era for our technology.”

Mecanim – Stunning Character Animation
Mecanim, Unity’s powerful and innovative animation technology, is setting new industry standards for tools in integrated development environments allowing the creation of complex state machines, blend trees, IK rigging, and auto retarget animations to characters of different sizes and shapes, all inside of the Unity editor. Developers will find a sizeable selection of retargetableanimations available in the Unity Asset Store: http://unity3d.com/unity/asset-store/.

DirectX 11
With the ability to take advantage of full DirectX 11 support, including shader model 5, tessellation for smoother models and environments in game worlds, and compute shaders for advanced GPU computation, Unity 4.0 empowers developers. DirectX 11 support development was aided by development of the Butterfly Effect demo: http://unity3d.com/promo/butterfly/.

High-end Visual Capabilities for All Platforms
Unity 4.0 also features real-time shadows on mobile, skinned mesh instancing, the ability to use normal maps when baking lightmaps, and a refined GPU profiler. It’s easy to make extremely high-end visuals that scale across the best of what’s available on modern PCs and the most advanced mobile graphics chips.

Adobe Flash Player Add-on
The Adobe Flash Player deployment add-on will empower developers to publishtheir new and existing titles to one of the world’s most ubiquitous gaming platforms on the web. With the wealth of incredible features in the 4.0 release, Unity is the most powerful development pipeline for creating high quality 2D and 3D content for Adobe Flash Player. The add-on is now available for sale in the Unity store: https://store.unity3d.com/.

Linux Publishing Preview
Unity 4.0 will also include a preview of a new deployment option to publishgames to Desktop Linux, clearing a path for the Unity community to bring exciting new content to the PC market’s most voracious indie gamers. Desktop Linux standalone publishing will be available for all Unity 4 users at no additional cost.

Unity 4 and the Adobe Flash Player add-on for Unity are now available for purchase at the Unity store (https://store.unity3d.com/).

About Unity Technologies
Unity Technologies is the creator of Unity, an intuitive and flexible development platform used to make wildly creative and intelligently interactive 3D and 2D content. The “author once, deploy everywhere” capability ensures developers can publish to all of the most popular platforms. Unity Technologies boasts a thriving community of nearly 1.5 million registered developers including large publishers, indie studios, students and hobbyists. Unity Technologies aggressively re-invests in its award-winning 3D development tools and democratization initiatives, such as the Asset Store digital content marketplace and Union game distribution service, in order to remain at the forefront of innovation. Unity Technologies is headquartered in San Francisco and has offices in Canada, China, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Japan, Korea, Lithuania, Sweden, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit: http://unity3d.com.

After seeing that the pledging to Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption wasn’t as good as they hoped and even reaching the starting goal will be a struggle, Corey Cole removed the stretch goal for supporting GNU/Linux and now promises that support without a stretch goal some time after the Windows release.

Here what Corey Cole about the GNU/Linux support :
“We have had a lot of requests for a Linux version, but the team had concerns that spending time on making Linux builds, testing them, and getting them out to the Linux Beta testers might affect the development schedule. A few nights ago, I came up with a solution.

I have decided to personally commit to bringing Hero-U to Linux. Originally we planned this as part of our first stretch goal, but I came up with a new plan. After Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption is complete and on the way to our Windows and Mac users, I will personally port the game to Linux and – with the help of some of our passionate Linux friends – make sure the game is rock solid.

See, there’s a little part of my history that 5 or 6 of you might not have heard yet. Before I was a game designer, I was a system programmer. My first job at Sierra was to translate the SCI game engine to the Atari ST and port the first four SCI games to the ST. I’ll just put on my software engineer hat for this task.

Why am I doing it this way? It is so that none of the Kickstarter proceeds will be used for the port. I will be doing it on my own time after the game is complete, so that we can guarantee that the Windows/Mac versions of Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption are absolutely the best we can make them.

Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption is a classic 2D role-playing adventure for Windows PC, Macintosh, and Linux by award-winning game designers Corey and Lori Cole (Quest for Glory, Castle of Dr. Brain, etc.).

Hero-U combines the rich character relationships, story and puzzles of a classic adventure game with the exploration and excitement of a role-playing game. Bringing all these features together makes Hero-U a completely unique game experience.

Classic adventure game characters, story, and puzzles

All the exploration, skill development, and choices of a classic RPG

A rich story that changes based on the way you play

Tactical turn-based combat

Characters with unique personalities and their own agendas

Fun, Funny, and Punny

There is danger and intrigue within the hallowed halls of Hero-U. Danger? Ha! Rogues laugh in the face… well, actually, they sneak up behind danger and bop it in the head, then run really, really fast.

You can be that Rogue!

Classic adventure game characters, story, and puzzles

Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption combines role-playing, puzzles, an immersive story, and rich character interactions. As in our acclaimed Quest for Glory series, every element works together to create a unique game experience that you will love.

In Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption, you take on the role of Shawn O’Conner, a would-be Thief who has had a rough life. As Shawn, you will attend Hero-U, a school that tries to teach young adventurers to be heroes. Shawn can continue his quest to join the Thieves’ Guild, or he can strive to become a Rogue Hero. He has a lot to learn to succeed at either path.

All the exploration, skill development, and choices of a classic RPG

Hero-U plays like a classic RPG, with turn-based tactical combat and exploration of the environment on top-down, 2D maps. There are traps, obstacles, and enemies for you to overcome as you explore the school and the ancient catacombs beneath it. Key scenes feature beautiful painted backdrops to let you see from Shawn’s perspective.

Shawn has skills and attributes that improve through game play. He will also acquire possessions that give you additional options. Your choices determine which skills Shawn learns. He can improve them through study and practice. Explore the school and catacombs as Shawn fights monsters, avoids trap, finds hidden items, and solves mysteries.

A rich story that changes based on the way you play

Your life has not been an easy one. Caught red-handed during your thief guild initiation, you have a choice – Go to reform school or rot away in prison. The teachers and students are intent on making your life a living hell, while trouble lurks in the catacombs below. It would help if you didn’t need to worry about being killed and passing midterms.

In your hands, Shawn has real choices. If he does someone a favor, it is because he figures they will be useful to him later. If he wants to unleash nameless horrors of destruction upon the world, well, hey, that’s his business… and yours.

Along the south coast of Marete to the east of Silmaria, there stands a great sprawling castle built in ancient times when demonic creatures sought to dominate Gloriana. Long abandoned, the castle was greatly feared by the people of Silmaria. There were rumors of hauntings, curses, and a great Evil buried within its rocky walls.

Over the years, a few desperate and foolhardy souls dared to explore dark towers and musty hallways in search of forgotten treasures. Even fewer returned; they whispered of eldritch horrors best left buried beneath the ancient stones. The castle’s grim silhouette upon the cliffs warns us that there are dangers in this world that mere mortals are not prepared to face.

So what better place than this to build a University for Heroes?

Besides, the rent was cheap.

Catacombs Concept Art – Built with Tiles!

Tactical turn-based combat

One doesn’t just wander around an ancient, possibly haunted, castle and expect to have an easy time of it. Your hero must learn the cunning, deception, and just plain Rogue skills, then use them to survive. “Hack and Slash” won’t cut it for a Rogue. Shawn must outwit and outmaneuver the creatures that lurk within the ancient catacombs beneath Hero-U.

Our turn-based combat system features an action point system that will make you choose between slow, powerful attacks, tactical movement, or a mixture of defense and quick attacks. Shawn will supplement his Roguish skills with clever use of traps and other items. Between battles, you will explore the catacombs, setting and avoiding traps and other challenges.

Characters with unique personalities and their own agendas

Many of the characters you encounter have their own reason for being there. They aren’t there to serve you, only themselves. Shawn will meet with these characters as you choose what he says to them, and how he relates. Conversation is an important part of Hero-U. It is a way for Shawn to gain information, make friends, and try to stay out of trouble.

Challenging puzzles that are an integral part of the story

We believe that puzzles are an important part of a good adventure game or RPG. Hero-U is filled with challenges that will make you think and that enrich the story. The problems Shawn faces are all closely linked to the story and characters at Hero-U.

Elective system that lets you customize Shawn’s abilities

All rogue candidates study basic techniques such as stealth, picking locks, and setting traps. But Hero-U also offers elective courses that will allow Shawn to customize his to assist his extra-curricular activities. These electives will give you choices on how you like to play.

Lori and Corey Cole have been making and playing games for… let’s just say, “forever”. At Sierra On-Line, we created one of the first hybrid graphic adventure/role-playing games. Our award-winning Quest for Glory was one of Sierra’s most successful game series. Corey’s Castle of Dr. Brain puzzle adventure game was another top-selling, critically-acclaimed game that spawned a successful series.

Music and Sound Design: Ryan Grogan, composer of music for film, animation, and games including MacGuffin’s Curse.

Marketing Maven and assistant combat designer: Michael Cole

YOU! Your support makes this game possible, and your feedback on the Hero-U forums will help us shape and perfect the game.

The Kickstarter revolution has changed all that. Now you, the players, help decide which games get made and which go back to the drawing board. We are very excited about our plans for Hero-U and think you should be too. This game will be the spiritual successor to our Quest for Glory series.

We have a file drawer full of great game proposals that we couldn’t convince traditional publishers to support. In one case, the publisher decided instead to design their own game. Millions of dollars later, they created a dismal failure that sold under 1,000 copies. Alas, we didn’t get a chance to tell them, “We told you so!” They were out of business after that.

We think you’re a lot smarter than most of those publishers. You know the kind of game experiences you want to have – Ones in which substance rules over form. You want well-designed game play that rewards thinking, with an immersive story, meaningful character development, and intelligent puzzles. Killing monsters is fun too, but it all needs to be part of the story.

You can help make Hero-U become a reality. If enough people support our Kickstarter project, we will be able to bring a new type of game to market. But if too many people choose to wait and see what our game looks like, we may never have the opportunity to make it at all. Your support here is important!

The project currently stands %50+ from it’s goal of $400k and has 11 days to go….so it’s still possible.

1. Please tell me about your team ,how many people are you and what each does ?

We’re currently two partners working full-time on the project; Kim Haar Jørgensen (Game Director) the visionary man behind Interstellar Marines, and Mikael Garde Nielsen (CTO) the guy in the engine room making sure all the wheels are turning.

On top of that we have assembled a core roster of extremely talented people who have all worked on the project at some point, and are ready to go full-time when the resources allow for it. Their experiences range from small unknown indie titles to big blockbuster games like Crysis and Deus Ex, and they all share the same intense desire to realize this ambitious project with us.

2. Originally you made a prototype using the UDK engine … which in my opinion looks graphically better than the current game (shame UDK doesn’t support GNU/Linux). Please tell me what happened after the well received release of the prototype ? why didn’t you continue developing the game with UDK ?

Good question. Actually the prototype was made on an UE3 evaluation license back before there ever was an UDK. The publisher demo that we created was well received, however when we found out that no publisher were willing to risk their money on a new IP and an unknown team, during a financial crisis, we changed gears and tried our luck in crowdfunding, which eventually lead us to changing to the Unity engine.

The main reason that the demo graphically looked better than the current is that we had a 2 team working on it, compared to 4 people on the current Deadlock prototype.

3. What made you move from UE3 to Unity ?

With the UE3 evaluation license we were not allowed to show off our work to the world unless we paid the multi-million dollar price tag on the engine (remember, this was before UDK was available), and we worked out that in order for us to be successful in crowdfunding we would have to show more than just ideas to the public. We had to show playable prototypes.

At this time the Unity3D engine were quickly gaining grounds, and it seemed like the natural choice for us, so we decided to try it out and we haven’t looked back since.

4. What features are added or missing game wise after the engine switch ?

It’s kind of hard to compare the two; the UE3 publisher demo served as a vertical slice to sell the vision to publishers who normally required such demos at the time, whereas the Unity prototypes serves more as proof of concepts of the various central features of what is to become Prologue.

5. Will it be a deathmatch/arena only FPS game or a campaign/missions are planned in the future ?

From the outset Prologue is a game that is focused on training scenarios, whether that be in multiplayer deathmatch to single-player target practicing or co-op hostage missions, everything is built around fun and engaging combat in an immersive training facility, where you’re constantly improving your proficiencies as a candidate for the Interstellar Marines battalion.

6. Why do you show the outdated UE3 videos from 2008 on the main Kickstarer campaign page and not the current Unity videos ? I mean the UE3 videos look better, but your current game looks much different and it’s no longer represent it.

As described before, the prototypes zooms in on the various features of what is to become Prologue but we still feel that the old videos from 2008 is better at showing “the big picture”. They most accurately portrait what kind of game and style we want to deliver, despite their age.

7. You strive for realism and simulation, and your game so far looks great and is heading to the right direction. How will the damage in the game work ? will you be killed from 1 shot ? or can parts of your body be damaged ? (like if you aim for the leg, the person won’t be able to use it and will crawl, or shoot his hand and he will lose his weapon).

Prologue will feature simple component damage to destin; which means thatWe’re simulating a lot of immersion effects to enhance the belief of looking out the eyes of your character and when it comes to e.g. being fatigued, stressed, wounded etc. we’re always considering which audio / visual cues we can implement to enhance the immersion.

8. What kinds of arena games the game will have ? (deathmatch, capture the flag etc…).

We’re planning to have all the standard game modes that we all love to play in other games; Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture The Flag, Domination etc. In addition to this, and since the game is about training for “first contact”, the training scenarios will be controlled by a all-encompassing AI (SARA), which controls both the simulation of the environment (rain, lights, sounds, access ways etc) and the mission parameters (objectives, AI, allowed equipment etc.) which opens up for a whole range of possible game modes.

9. Anything you would like to add ?

Like the Linux community and open source movement, we are all about honest and authentic communication. We believe that inviting the fans to play our game at a very early stage, makes for a much better result, and this is why we’re openly sharing our prototypes and work-in-progress builds with the community.So we hope we will gain a few Linux fans out there, as we will need all the feedback we can get from now until release of Prologue. 🙂

Bloom is a beautiful fantasy action adventure game with a dose of RPG elements. The concept art and sketches look great and the early gameplay concept is also very good. They ask for $150k (which isn’t a lot for that kind of game) and we have 40 days to achieve it.

Bloom is an isometric action adventure game with a dose of RPG elements. Set in a rich fantasy world caught in the midst of an epic battle between nature and the re-emerging technology of the past, Bloom strives to bring forward an entirely new experience to the players.

Over time, the idea of Bloom slowly developed from the modest beginnings of an unreleased graphic novel into a living breathing world of deep history and exciting creatures.

Beyond it’s history and unique story, Bloom will give players a fresh new world to explore and challenge them in ways they have never been before.

In Bloom, you take on the role of a young survivor just beginning to explore her people’s innate connection with nature as you try to stay alive against impossible odds. A deep history and unexpected story propels you forward as you continue to cling to a quickly diminishing glimmer of hope.

While the story and setting is rich and engaging, Bloom also takes a fresh approach to the entire player experience with a new level of game design.

Synergetic Design –

Our entire ability system is designed with as much cross interaction as possible. An ability, such as being able to shoot an arrow, is not limited to simply a damage roll against a creature. Instead, it serves as a single tool which can be used in a wide range of ways throughout the game. From adding weight to an object, to pressing switches, to delivering an object in your inventory to a distant location and much more.

In this way players are not overwhelmed with long menu lists and other disruptions to the flow of game-play. While at the same time, players will find they have a great number of options in how they strategize and approach situations depending on how they choose to use their tools.

Strategic Real-Time Combat –

Combat in Bloom is made to challenge players to think and plan ahead as they manage their energy and dodge or counter attacks. Winning does not come down to who can mash the X button the fastest. Instead, the game challenges players to invent creative ways to overcome their enemies. Congratulations, you can shoot an arrow… but lets see you use your bow to defeat an enemy that can’t be hurt by arrows.

Not only that, but enemies will begin to adjust their tactics to match you. Even when knowing an enemies weakness, the battle isn’t over by far.

Living Environments –

In Bloom, the world around you is far more than simply a backdrop. It is key to your success in moving forward. You will be able to spot and utilize boons and other environmental advantages as you fight and use the environment to set traps or other strategies you invent. Rushing into a fight blindly will only get you so far. ..sometimes you have to sit back and look around you for a minute (of course, at the same time you might have an angry creature vying for your attention).

These are just some of the great features we have planned to create an experience unlike any other. You will find Bloom isn’t trying to copy some other game, we are rewriting the rules and bringing new life to the party.

Jordan Brock sent me an email about a game he is working on with his team called Just Tactics (they are also working on a new website 😉 ).

Just Tactics is a free (for now) turn based, online multiplayer, 1v1, tactical war game involving squads and deck building.

They Follow the “Minecraft business model” in which they give the game for free at first and as the game development progresses they start charging money from lower to higher (so those who buy early get a better price).

The plan is to gradually build a community that can help test the game and enjoy it together (it is a multiplayer game after all).

The interesting thing is that they use the jmonkey engine and a lot of other open source tools but also give back to the community.

You can see the tools they have developed and released under the BSD license far from their dev blog, and they are always working on new tools !

Here is the email Jordan Brock sent me :

Hi Maxim,

Sorry, I am not a pretty girl.

We are working on a game called “Just Tactics,” currently available for Linux and Windows. Just Tactics is a Turn Based, Online Multiplayer, 1v1, Tactical War Game involving Squads and Deck Building.

We are using jmonkey engine and a lot of other open source tools. Our entire codebase is not open sourced, but some day it likely will be (right now what is not open sourced is our art assets and the game logic specific to our game, honestly not particularly useful to anyone). Any tool that we have made that actually would be useful to someone, we have open sourced, you can check them out on our devblog: http://devblog.htssoft.com/

For Just Tactics we have been doing QA testing for 6 months, so there aren’t many bugs left. The game is not quite finished (there are a number of art assets missing, mainly some paint and sound effects). However, Just Tactics is very much playable, and it is time to build a community of gamers that will love all of the tactical goodness packed into Just Tactics. We are looking to give away several thousand copies of the game, this will allow us to stress test our infrastructure, and also gets us to the ever important “critical mass” of gamers the community needs so that when you join the Quickmatch queue, you actually find an opponent.

We are using a “Minecraft pricing strategy.” Right now the game is free. As the game becomes more complete, we will start to charge a modest price for it. As Just Tactics gains more content, we will continue to up the price commensurate with what is reasonable. This creates an incentive to join the community now (especially now because the game is free 🙂 as opposed a traditional pricing structure where the game comes out as a finished product at a high price, and then some people delay their purchase until the game is in the “bargain bin.” We feel that the “Minecraft pricing strategy” is a better fit for indie games like ours. When we do start charging for the game, anyone already in the community is still good to go, you do not have to pay for DLC or anything like that. Even when we are charging, new players will be able to demo the game for free forever using a default army (which is a decent army, not crippled in any way). By letting you demo forever, it helps us to continue to grow the community, and it lets us simply ignore that part of DRM 🙂 When you grow weary of the default army, you can pay, and then you have access to everything (paying gets you everything, all units, all cards, all future units, all future cards, there is no “pay to win,” which is why having your fans join our community now, for free, is quite a good proposition for them 🙂

Check out some of these videos to see what the game is like:First Look

Tutorial

Teleporters

Please check out the website (we have a web designer working on a nice design at this very moment I swear!)

If you want to play a couple of matches add me as a friend on the client, I am ‘carnator’. If you join Quickmatch you will probably not find a match (tiny community = no one online looking for a match, this is why I am writing you 🙂 Hit me up with an email if you want me to hop on and play you 🙂

I think that some of your site’s fans will really enjoy the awesome Linux game we are working on (and, hey, it’s free!) I think that you will appreciate how we approach building the community, expanding the game, running our business, contributing back to the open source community, etc.